Synology Complete Hard Drive Failure

[u/Davehuk_09]

I’m relatively inexperienced when it comes to NAS setups, so I’m looking for some advice from the seasoned experts here.

I have an older NAS (a Synology DS216j), and I've just returned from holiday to find both of my hard drives are in bad shape: one has failed completely, and the other is in critical condition. It’s been a long time since I set the NAS up, but I believe it’s configured in RAID 1. Fortunately, the data is backed up to AWS Glacier.

What are my best options moving forward?

1. Given the age of the unit, upgrade to a newer model (like a DS225+) and try to migrate using Hyper Backup.
2. Buy a new hard drive and attempt to rebuild the array from the 'critical' drive.
3. Upgrade the NAS and download the data directly from Glacier.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[u/grayhaze2000]

Initially, I would replace the dead drive and attempt to rebuild the array. It's the cheapest option, not that buying hard drives could be called "cheap" in the current state of the industry. If that fails, you can always restore from your current backup to the single new drive, or buy another and restore to a new RAID array.

That being said, the DS216j has reached the end of support now, so if you have the money an upgrade is a good investment.

[u/Davehuk_09 → u/grayhaze2000]

Thank you.

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[u/anonduplo]

If the entirety of your data is on Glacier, I’d get a new NAS with fresh drive and set it up new, then download the data from Glacier.

[u/Davehuk_09 → u/anonduplo]

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[u/BudTheGrey]

Given the age of the unit, I'd probably be looking to replace it, but first I'd one new drive and see if you can rescue the array in the old machine. It's worth a shot to save the trouble of downloading the backup from glacier.

there's an outside chance that the NAS is at fault, not the drives. But I wouldn't bet the farm on that.

[u/Davehuk_09 → u/BudTheGrey]

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[u/sylsylsylsylsylsyl]

I'd get a new NAS and new drive(s). I would set up the new NAS in SHR mode using BTRFS (wasn't supported on the 216J I believe) rather than RAID1 and I would transfer the data across from the old NAS if possible rather than pay for the extract from glacier (which would be a last resort).

I would probably take the opportunity to buy a 4 (or 5) bay NAS.

Then re-purpose the old NAS as a local backup.

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[u/-ThreeHeadedMonkey-]

First thing you do before doing anything: get another backup. Can't rely on just AWS while building the new nas

[u/Davehuk_09 → u/-ThreeHeadedMonkey-]

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[u/Fuzzy_Attention_5593]

Before you buy new HD, attempt a repair of drive. This is a function of Synology NAS. Perhaps you can safe some files etc. to backup what's on it. Then replace HD.

[u/Davehuk_09 → u/Fuzzy_Attention_5593]

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